Generating game configurations

ABSTRACT

A system, computer-readable storage medium storing at least one program, and a computer-implemented method for generating game configurations are presented. For example, a system may receive a game configuration request message from a client device being operated by a player playing a virtual game. The game configuration request message may be sent, for example, in response to the player initiating a new game of the virtual game. The system may then select a game configuration based at least in part on historical performance data associated with the selected game configuration. The historical performance data may accumulate performance data from a group of players that previously played the virtual game using the selected game configuration. The system then communicates the selected game configuration to the client device. The player may play the virtual game using the selected game configuration as the initial game configuration for the virtual game.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/637,491, filed on Jun. 29, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/739,343, filed on Jan. 11, 2013, whichclaims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/586,027, filed on Jan. 12, 2012. Each of the above applicationsare incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to gaming systems. In an exampleembodiment, a gaming system uses historical performance data to generatea game configuration for a game board.

BACKGROUND

Traditional game systems may host virtual games that a player mayaccess. In many cases, the virtual games may present a game board (e.g.,a grid of letters, tiles, or the like) that a player is to interact withto achieve one or more objectives (e.g., forming words, locating gameobjects (e.g., bombs), and the like). As an example, the popular gameMINESWEEPER, as often bundled by operating systems such as MICROSOFT®,may present a game board that includes a grid of undifferentiatedsquares, some of which, unknown to the player, are designated by thetraditional game system as being mines. A player then plays a game ofMINESWEEPER by: selecting a square, receiving an indication of whetherthe selected square is a mine, or receiving an indication of a number ofmines adjacent to the selected square. If the square is a mine, the gamepresents an indication that the player lost the virtual game and thenends the virtual game. Otherwise, the player may select another squarefrom the grid and receives the appropriate indications again. The playercontinues to select other squares in this manner until only the boxesthat were designated as mines are left on the game board.

To vary the user experience, these traditional game systems may vary thegame board used by various instances of the board game. For example,with MINESWEEPER, a traditional game system may randomly select boxeswithin the grid to represent the mines. In this way, the traditionalgame system may present unpredictable challenges to the player.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and notlimitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereference numerals indicate similar elements unless otherwise indicated.In the drawings,

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a game system for implementing variousexample embodiments;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a social network within a social graph,according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating various modules that may beconfigured to generate a game configuration for a game board usinghistorical performance data, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a game board, according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a game configurationlibrary, as may be maintained by the game configuration manager of FIG.3, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of using historicalperformance data to generate a game configuration for a game board,according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method that may be performed byembodiments described herein to track performance data;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of using a gameconfiguration heuristic to select a game configuration from a set ofgame configurations, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example data flow between example components ofthe example system of FIG. 1, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example network environment, in which variousexample embodiments may operate; and

FIG. 11 illustrates an example computing system architecture, which maybe used to implement one or more of the methodologies described herein,according to some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Overview

Users of computer-implemented systems may access and interact with agaming environment to play various types of virtual games. For example,a user (e.g., a player) may access a virtual game hosted by a gamingplatform, as provided by Zynga, Inc., in which a game board is presentedas a grid of tiles containing one or more letters. As used herein, theterm “game board” may refer to an instance of a playing area in which aplayer interacts with to play that game. By way of example and notlimitation, a game board may represent a grid (e.g., 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, 5×5,and so on) of tiles in which a player may interact with to form words.For example, each tile of the grid may represent a different letter, andthe player may form words by selecting adjacent tiles in a particularsequence. In other word forming games, the player may form a word byplacing letters from a set of available letters in consecutivehorizontal or vertical rows. It is to be appreciated that the term “gameboard” may be used to refer to any suitable type of playing area used ina virtual game. For example, in addition to the above word forming gameboards, other game boards may represent a board game (e.g., a chessboard, a checkers board, or any other suitable board), a maze, a racetrack, a list of words, a grid hiding bombs, or any other representationof a playable game.

As used herein, the term “game configuration,” or simply“configuration,” may refer to logic or data that specifies or otherwisegovern how the state of a game is to change over the duration of thegame. For example, in some embodiments, a game configuration for a gameboard may specify a rule or constraint that governs how the state of thegame can change. By way of example and not limitation, in the context ofa chess game, a game configuration may include environmental rules orconstraints that specify the size of the chess board, or modified rulessuch as “rooks can only move four spaces away” or “provide a handicap infavor of player 2 that lets him make two moves to start.” Additionallyor alternatively, the game configuration for a game board may specifythe initial setup of a game board. For example, the game configurationfor a Scramble With Friends® game board may specify the letters arrangedin a grid.

It is to be appreciated that a game configuration for a game board isdifferent from the game state of a game board. Such is the case becausea “game state,” as used herein, may refer to data that specifies theresult of game activity on a game board at a particular point duringgame play, which, in some cases, is a result of the game activityoccurring within the virtual game since the game began. For example, inthe context of chess, the game state is the current arrangement of chesspieces on the chess board at turn three. However, the game configurationfor the game board may be the arrangement of the chess pieces prior toany player making a move (e.g., move zero) and the set of rulesgoverning the operation of each chess piece.

As described herein, the gaming platform may use historical performancedata to generate a game configuration for a game board used in a virtualgame. A past score achieved by a player is one example of historicalperformance data that the gaming platform may use to generate a gameconfiguration for a game board. In some embodiments, the gaming platformmay use such historical performance data to generate a gameconfiguration for the game board for an instance of a virtual game thatcorresponds to the experience level of a player (e.g., a boardassociated with higher scores for a beginner, a board associated withlower scores for an experienced player).

In an example embodiment, a computer-implemented method may receive agame configuration request message from a client device being operatedby a first player playing a virtual game. The game configuration requestmessage may be sent, for example, in response to the first playerinitiating a new game or instance of the virtual game. The method maythen select a game configuration based at least in part on historicalperformance data associated with the selected game configuration. Thehistorical performance data may accumulate performance data from a groupof players that previously played the virtual game using the selectedgame configuration. The method may then communicate the selected gameconfiguration to the client device. The player may then play an instanceof the virtual game using the selected game configuration for the gameboard used in the virtual game.

Further, in example embodiments, a computer-implemented method may laterreceive, from the client device being operated by the player,performance data relating to a performance metric of the virtual gameplayed by the player using the previously selected game configuration. Ascore achieved by the player is an example of a performance metriccontemplated by this disclosure. After receiving the performance data,the method may then incorporate the performance data with the historicalperformance data associated with the game configuration.

These and other embodiments of the invention are described in furtherdetail below.

Example System

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a game system 100 for implementingvarious example embodiments. In some embodiments, the game system 100comprises a user 102, a client device 104, a network 106, a socialnetworking system 108, and a game networking system 110. The componentsof the game system 100 may be connected directly or over a network 106,which may be any suitable network. In various embodiments, one or moreportions of the network 106 may include an ad hoc network, an intranet,an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network(LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN(WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, aportion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellulartelephone network, or any other type of network, or a combination of twoor more such networks.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates a particular example of the arrangement ofthe user 102, the client device 104, the social networking system 108,the game networking system 110, and the network 106, this disclosureincludes any suitable arrangement or configuration of the user 102, theclient device 104, the social networking system 108, the game networkingsystem 110, and the network 106.

The client device 104 may be any suitable computing device, such as asmart phone, a personal digital assistant, a mobile phone, a personalcomputer, a laptop, a computing tablet, or any other device suitable forplaying a virtual game. The client device 104 may access the socialnetworking system 108 or the game networking system 110 directly, viathe network 106, or via a third-party system. For example, the clientdevice 104 may access the game networking system 110 via the socialnetworking system 108. The client device 104 may be any suitablecomputing device, such as a personal computer, laptop, cellular phone,smart phone, computing tablet, etc.

The social networking system 108 may include a network-addressablecomputing system that can host one or more social graphs (see forexample FIG. 2), and may be accessed by the other components of gamesystem 100 either directly or via the network 106. The social networkingsystem 108 may generate, store, receive, and transmit social networkingdata.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a social network within a social graph 200.Social graph 200 is shown by way of example to include an out-of-gamesocial network 250, and an in-game social network 260. Moreover, in-gamesocial network 260 may include one or more users that are friends withPlayer 201 (e.g., Friend 231), and may include one or more other usersthat are not friends with Player 201. The social graph 200 maycorrespond to the various users associated with the virtual game. In anexample embodiment, each user may “build” their own virtual structuresusing branded virtual objects and/or unbranded virtual objects. When,for example, Player 201 visits the virtual environment of Friend 231,the virtual environment displayed to Player 201 includes branded objectsselected and placed in that environment by Friend 231.

With reference back to FIG. 1, the game networking system 110 mayinclude a network-addressable computing system (or systems) that canhost one or more virtual games, for example, online games. The gamenetworking system 110 may generate, store, receive, and transmitgame-related data, such as, for example, game account data, game input,game configuration data, and game displays. The game networking system110 may be accessed by the other components of game system 100 eitherdirectly or via the network 106. The user 102 may use the client device104 to access, send data to, and receive data from the social networkingsystem 108 and/or the game networking system 110.

Example Modules

Example modules of the game system 100 are now described. For example,FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating various modules that may beconfigured to generate a game configuration for a game board usinghistorical performance data, according to an example embodiment. In anexample embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the game networking system 110may include a game engine 302, a game configuration selector 304, a gameconfiguration manager 306, and a performance tracker 308. It is to beappreciated that the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is providedby way of example and not limitation and that other embodimentsconsistent with this disclosure may utilize different gameconfigurations. For example, in some embodiments, the client device 104may include one or more of the modules shown in FIG. 3 to providedistributed processing for the generation of a game configuration for agame board.

The game engine 302 may perform operations related to generating,storing, receiving, and transmitting game-related data, such as, forexample, game account data, game input, game configuration data, a gameboard, and game displays.

The game configuration selector 304 may be a computer-implemented moduleconfigured to perform operations related to selecting a gameconfiguration for a game board. As described in greater detail below,the game configuration selector 304 may, in some embodiments, select agame configuration for a game board based on historical performance dataassociated with the game configuration. For example, in some cases, thegame configuration selector 304 may select a game configuration thatcorresponds to a range of scores achieved by other players of thevirtual game. Also described in greater detail below, the gameconfiguration selector 304 may select a game configuration using a gameconfiguration heuristic.

The game configuration manager 306 may be a computer-implemented moduleconfigured to maintain a game configuration library. A gameconfiguration library may be a data store that associates a particulargame configuration with historical performance data, such as an averagegame score or a rating.

The performance tracker 308 may be a computer-implemented moduleconfigured to receive and associate performance data with a particulargame configuration. For example, in some embodiments, the performancetracker 308 may receive an indication of a score achieved by a playerwhen the player plays the virtual game using the game configuration. Theperformance tracker 308 may then update the historical performance datafor the game configuration to incorporate the score just achieved by theplayer. Such incorporation may include recalculating an average for aperformance metric being tracked by the historical performance data,incrementing the performance metric being tracked, or any other suitableoperation that aggregates the performance data with the historicalperformance data.

The operation of the game engine 302, the game configuration selector304, the game configuration manager 306, and the performance tracker 308are described in greater detail below, with reference to FIGS. 6-8.

Example Data Models

Example data models utilized by the game system 100 are now described.FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a game configuration for a game board400, according to an example embodiment. As FIG. 4 shows, the gameconfiguration may specify that the game board 400 represents a grid ofletters organized in columns 402 and rows 404. In the context of thegame board 400 shown in FIG. 4, the game configuration for game board400 specify which letters are to be located at particular locationswithin the grid. In an example embodiment, the game configuration forthe game board 400 may be stored as a multidimensional array, table, onedimensional array, linked list, or any other suitable data structure. Byway of example and not limitation, the game board 400 may be used in aword forming game, such as Scramble With Friends®, as provided by ZyngaInc®. Such word forming games may operate according to the playerselecting a sequence of adjacent tiles that, when combined in thesequence of the selection, forms a valid word. For example, responsiveto a player selecting tiles 410, 412, 414, and 416, the game engine 302may determine that the sequence of tiles (i.e., 410, 412, 414, and 416)forms the word “LADY.”

It is to be appreciated that other game boards may differ from the gameboard 400 depicted by FIG. 4 based on the game configuration selectedfor the game board. Further, the difficulty between one game board andanother game board may vary considerably depending on the gameconfiguration selected for the two game boards. In some cases, thedifficulty of a particular game board may lead to low engagement by theplayer, as some game boards include relatively few words that can beformed or may include many difficult words that a beginner may miss.

To select a game configuration for a game board, embodiments maymaintain a game configuration library that associates gameconfigurations with historical performance data. FIG. 5 is a diagramillustrating an example of a game configuration library 500, as may bemaintained by the game configuration manager 306 of FIG. 3, according toan example embodiment. The game configuration library 500 shown in FIG.5 may include game configuration records 502A-B. Each of the gameconfiguration records 502A-B may include game configurations andhistorical performance data associated with game configurations used inpast games played by players of the game system 100. As described above,a game configuration may include data relating to rules, constraints,and an initial setup that governs how the state of a game board canchange from the beginning of a virtual game to the end of the virtualgame. For example, as described above, a game configuration for the gameof chess may specify rules defining how a given piece (e.g., a rook) mayoperate (e.g., limit the number of spaces in a valid move). Further, asalso described above, a game configuration for a letter forming game mayspecify the letters on a game board. As shown in FIG. 5, the gameconfiguration may be a string of letters, where the i^(th) letter of thestring corresponds to the letter that is to be associated with position((i−1) % M+1, (i−1)/M+1) in a M-by-N grid. Using FIG. 5 as an example,the game configuration 506 of the game configuration record 502 mayrepresent the letters displayed by the game board 400 of FIG. 4.

The historical performance data associated with a game configuration maytrack a performance metric of past games involving the gameconfiguration represented by the game configuration data of the gameconfiguration record. For example, the historical performance data mayinclude statistical data that tracks scores obtained by players playinga game board with a given game configuration, user feedback (e.g., suchas a rating of a game board presented with a game configuration), thelength of words found, the number of words identified, a time tocomplete a game board, and the like.

In some embodiments, the game configuration manager 306 may organize thegame configuration records 502A-D of the game configuration library 500according to a function of the historical performance data of each ofthe game configuration records. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, thegame configuration records 502A-C are organized according to a functionof highest historical performance data (e.g., 500) to lowest performancedata (e.g., 75). Thus, in some embodiments, the game configurationmanager 306 may rank the game configuration records according to highestaverage score to lowest average score, or highest average words found tolowest words found. In other embodiments, the game configuration library500 may organize the game configuration records 502A-D in groups, forexample the game configuration library 500 may organize the gameconfiguration records in groups according to halves, thirds, quarters,and so on.

In some embodiments, the game configuration manager 306 may index thegame configuration library 500 according to a game configurationidentifier, a ranking, or the like. Accordingly, in some embodiments,the game configuration manager 306, or any other component, may access agame configuration record according to a rank or a particular gameconfiguration identifier. In some embodiments, a game configurationidentifier may be generated when a game configuration record is createdin the game configuration library 500 or may be a function (e.g., aresult of a hash function) of a game configuration.

Example Methods

Example methods of generating a game configuration for a game board arenow described. For example, FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating anexample method 600 of using historical performance data to generate agame configuration for a game board, according to an example embodiment.The method 600 may, in some embodiments, be performed by the systems,components, and modules shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Accordingly, for thepurpose of clarity of description, the method 600 will be described withreference to the game engine 302 and the game configuration selector 304of FIG. 3.

The method 600 may begin at operation 602 when the game configurationselector 304 receives a game configuration request message from theclient device 104. A game configuration request message may be anelectronic message that requests the game configuration selector 304 toprovide a game configuration for a game board being played on the clientdevice 104. In an example embodiment, the client device 104 may send thegame configuration request message to the game networking system 110responsive to detecting the user 102 selecting a user interface buttonlabeled “New Game,” or the like.

After receiving the game configuration request message, the method 600may continue to decision block 604. The decision block 604 may involvethe game configuration selector 304 determining whether to generate agame configuration for the game board by selecting a game configurationfrom the game configuration library (e.g., operation 606) or bygenerating a new game configuration (e.g., operation 608). In someembodiments, the determination between generating the game configurationby selecting a game configuration from the game configuration library orby generating a new game configuration is determined based at least inpart on a probability function. For example, the game configurationselector 304 may generate the game configuration by selecting the gameconfiguration from the game configuration library X % of the time, whilegenerating the game configuration by generating a new game configurationY % of the time. It is to be appreciated that some embodiments may varythe probability function so that the values for X and Y change dependingon a number of factors, such as skill or experience level of the player,input from a game administrator (e.g., via a game configuration setting,game configuration file, or the like), a score of the player, a numberof game played by the player, and the like.

Responsive to determining that the game configuration is to be selectedfrom the game configuration library, the game configuration selector 304selects a game configuration from the game configuration library. Thisis shown as operation 606. As described above, the game configurationlibrary (e.g., the game configuration library 500 of FIG. 5) may be adata store that maintains a relationship between a game configurationand historical performance data relating to that game configuration.Accordingly, operation 606 may involve the game configuration selector304 selecting a game configuration associated with historicalperformance data obtained from one or more players playing the virtualgame with the game configuration. For example, the historicalperformance data may include an average score obtained by the playersplaying the virtual game with the game configuration.

It is to be appreciated that selection of a game configuration from thegame configuration library may occur in any suitable manner. Forexample, as described above, the game configuration library may organizegame configuration records according to a function of theircorresponding historical performance data. In such cases, the gameconfiguration selector 304 may select, for example, the highest rankedgame configuration not already communicated to the player. As a furtherexample, also described above, the game configuration library mayorganize game configuration records according to ranges or buckets (suchas, for example, quartiles, thirds, and the like). In such cases, thegame configuration selector 304 may select, for example, a gameconfiguration record within a particular range or bucket, such as a topquartile. Selecting a game configuration within a range may be useful inmatching a game configuration to a property of a player, such as anexperience level. To illustrate, one range of game configuration recordsmay be used to select game records for beginners (as may be measured byan experience level of the player, an amount of games played by theplayer, player achievements, and the like), while another range of gameconfiguration records may be used to select game configurations forexperienced players.

Alternatively, responsive to determining that the game configuration isnot to be selected from the game configuration library, the method 600may branch to operation 608 in which the game configuration selector 304selects a new game configuration for the game board to be played in avirtual game. In some embodiments, operation 608 may involve the gameconfiguration selector 304 generating a set of random gameconfigurations and then using a game configuration heuristic to selectone of the game configurations from the set of game configurations.Generally, a “game configuration heuristic,” as used herein, may be dataor logic operable to generate a game configuration quality score for agame configuration. The game configuration quality score may be ameasurement calculated based on one or more properties of specified by agame configuration. For example, a game configuration heuristic mayproduce relatively higher game configuration quality score for a gameconfiguration that includes a determinable number of words. Operation608 is discussed in greater detail below, with respect to FIG. 8.

At operation 610, the game configuration selector 304 may add the newgame configuration to the game configuration library. In this way,example embodiments may seed the game configuration library with newgame configurations. Seeding the game configuration library in thismanner may find a number of practical advantages, such as initializingor otherwise building up the game configuration library for a virtualgame that was recently released by the game networking system 110.Further, seeding the game configuration library in this manner may alsoprovide a mechanism to diversify the game configuration library.

At operation 612, the game engine 302 communicates the selected gameconfiguration to the client device that previously sent the gameconfiguration request message. Communicating the game configuration tothe client device may involve sending a representation (as may beobtained from the selected game configuration record at operation 606 orthe game configuration generated at operation 608) of the gameconfiguration to the client device. Upon receiving the gameconfiguration, the client device then generates and displays a visualrepresentation of a game board corresponding to the game configurationand initiates game play. Additionally or alternatively, the game engine302 may communicate a game configuration identifier operable to identifythe game configuration record corresponding to the game configurationbeing communicated to the client device 104.

It is to be appreciated that the method 600, in some exampleembodiments, may provide many practical advantages. For example, in oneembodiment, the method 600 may provide comparatively interesting gameconfigurations to a player. Such may be the case when, for example, themethod 600 selects a game configuration from the game configurationlibrary that, at least based on the historical performance data,predicts a performance level for the player. For example, where manyplayers scored relatively highly for a particular game configuration,example embodiments may predict that the player will find the particulargame configuration interesting. In some cases, as described above,example embodiments of the game configuration library may organize gameconfigurations according to buckets. Accordingly, the game configurationselector 304 may then select a game configuration from a given bucketbased on a property of the player (e.g., experience level). Using such abucketing approach may allow embodiments to consistently challenge aplayer as the player improves their skill in the game.

As described above, the method 600 may generate a game configuration fora game board using historical performance data, as may be maintained bythe game configuration library, for example. In some embodiments, thehistorical performance data is built up by tracking performance datarelating from games played by various players. For example, FIG. 7 is aflowchart illustrating a method 700 that may be performed by embodimentsdescribed herein to track performance data. The method 700 may, in someembodiments, be performed by the systems, components, and modules shownin FIGS. 1 and 3. Accordingly the method 700 is described with referenceto the game engine 302, the game configuration selector 304, the gameconfiguration manager 306, and the performance tracker 308, as shown inFIG. 3.

The method 700 may begin at operation 702 when the performance tracker302 receives performance data associated with a game configurationpreviously communicated to the client device 104 by the gameconfiguration selector 304. As explained above, performance data mayinclude information related to the game play of the game configurationby the player. For example, the performance data may include a scorecalculated according to a function of a number of words formed by theplayer when playing the virtual game with the selected gameconfiguration, feedback from the player (e.g., an indication that theplayer enjoyed or liked the game configuration), timing informationrelative to when words were formed, or some combination thereof. In someembodiments, the performance data may be received by the performancetracker 302 in a performance update message that includes theperformance data and a game configuration identifier.

Responsive to receiving the performance data, the performance tracker308, at operation 704, updates the historical performance datacorresponding to the game configuration just played by the player toreflect the new performance data. For example, the performance trackermodule 308 may use the game configuration identifier included in theperformance update message as an index into the game configurationlibrary to identify the historical performance data of the gameconfiguration that is to be updated. The performance tracker module 308may then update the historical performance data to incorporate theperformance data received at operation 702. Updating the historicalperformance data may involve recalculating an average score, averagewords found, success rate of a game board with the game configuration,time to complete the game board with the game configuration, and thelike.

As FIG. 7 shows with the dashed line, operations 702 and 704 may berepeated any number of times. The operations 702 and 704 may repeat, forexample, when the game configuration selector 304 communicates anothergame configuration to another player, that player plays the virtual gameusing this game configuration, and the client device then communicatesthe performance data (e.g., the score obtained by the player) back tothe performance tracker 308.

In some embodiments, the game configuration manager 306 may organize thegame configuration records of the game configuration library. This isshown as operation 706. For example, the game configuration manager 306may rank the game configuration records according to their correspondinghistorical performance data, such as according to average score, averagenumber of words found, average time for completion of the gameconfiguration, and the like. As another example, operation 706 mayinvolve the game configuration manager 306 pruning game configurationrecords using pruning criteria. “Pruning criteria,” as used herein, maybe a term for data or logic operable to specify a minimum historicalperformance data threshold that when not satisfied causes the gameconfiguration manager 306 to remove the game configuration from the gameconfiguration library. By way of example and not limitation, the pruningcriteria may specify a minimum score for a game configuration to remainin the game configuration library. Thus, those game configurations thatare associated with game scores lower than the minimum score specifiedby the pruning criteria are removed from the game configuration libraryby the game configuration manager 306. In this way, the gameconfiguration manager 306 may remove game configuration records thatmay, in some cases, be too difficult and, as a result, increase thelikelihood that a player is to receive an interesting gameconfiguration.

As described above, with reference to operation 608 of FIG. 6, someembodiments may use a game configuration heuristic to select a gameconfiguration from a set of game configurations. In some cases, using agame configuration heuristic to select a game configuration from a setof game configurations may allow some embodiments to seed the gameconfiguration library with comparatively interesting game configurationsin an efficient manner. Such may be the case because the gameconfiguration heuristic may be a function to measure the level ofinterest a game configuration may produce when played by a player.

To illustrate, FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method 800 of usinga game configuration heuristic to select a game configuration from a setof game configurations, according to an example embodiment. The method800 may, in some embodiments, be performed by the systems, components,and modules shown in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the method 800 is describedwith reference to the game engine 302, the game configuration selector304, the game configuration manager 306, and the performance tracker308, as shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 8, the method 800 may begin at operation 802 when thegame configuration selector 304 generates a set (e.g., one or more) ofgame configurations. In some embodiments, the set of different gameconfigurations are generated by randomly selecting properties for eachgame configuration. In the example of a word forming game, the gamestate selector 304 may generate a random game configuration by randomlyselecting letters for the tiles in a game board. This process ofgenerating random game configurations may be repeated until the gameconfiguration selector 304 generates a determinable number of randomgame configurations. According to example embodiments, the size of theset may be a determinable size set by a game developer. For example, thegame configuration selector 304 may generate a set of 5, 10, 100, or anyother suitable number of game configurations.

At operation 804, the game configuration selector 304 may then selectone of the random game configurations from the set of gameconfigurations based on a game configuration heuristic. As describedabove, the game configuration heuristic may generate a gameconfiguration quality score for each game configuration in the set ofgame configurations. The game configuration quality score may begenerated based on a heuristic that evaluates a number of factorsassociated with each generated game configuration. For example, thenumber of possible words that may be formed using a game configurationmay be one factor. The number of possible words may be determined basedon an exhaustive search using a dictionary that contains words that areusable in a word forming game. Another example may consider the qualityof the possible words. Quality may be determined based on historicalperformances of past games. For example, a certain word may be formed Xnumber of times, whereas another word may be formed Y number of times.Such word counts may indicate that one word is more easily recognizedthan another word. In some embodiments, rather than keeping word countsrepresenting the number of times that a word is formed in past games,the heuristic may consider a ratio of the number of times that the wordwas available and then formed.

It is to be appreciated that alternative embodiments to the gamingplatform described above are possible. For example, in one embodiment, agame configuration may further include data that specifies bonusfeatures. A bonus feature, as used herein, may refer to a feature thataffects the general game play of a game configuration. For example,according to some embodiments, some tiles may be associated with ascoring multiplier. A scoring multiplier may increase the scoreassociated with a tile or a word. As another example, some embodimentsmay associate the game configuration with a keyword dictionary thatincreases the score associated with particular words. For example, akeyword dictionary may include words associated with a holiday. Such aholiday keyword dictionary may provide look and feel benefits,especially during the holidays. In some example embodiments, a gameconfiguration heuristic may calculate a game configuration quality scoreby incorporating data from such bonus features. For example, where thegame configuration heuristic identifies that a game configurationincludes the ability to form a given word, the game configurationheuristic may increase the game configuration quality score even furtherif the given word is formed in a tile associated with a scoringmultiplier, or the word is found in a holiday keyword dictionary.

Example Game Systems, Social Networks, and Social Graphs

As described above, the systems described herein may include,communicate, or otherwise interact with a game system. As such, a gamesystem is now described to illustrate further embodiments. In an onlinemultiuser game, users control player characters (PCs), a game enginecontrols non-player characters (NPCs), and the game engine also managesplayer character state and tracks states for currently active (e.g.,online) users and currently inactive (e.g., offline) users. A gameengine, in some embodiments, may include a documentation engine.Alternatively, the documentation engine and game engine may be embodiedas separate components operated by the game network system and/or thedocument provision system.

A player character may have a set of attributes and a set of friendsassociated with the player character. As used herein, the terms “state”and “attribute” can be used interchangeably to refer to any in-gamecharacteristic of a player character, such as location, assets, levels,condition, health, status, inventory, skill set, name, orientation,affiliation, specialty, and so on. The game engine may use a playercharacter state to determine the outcome of a game event, sometimes alsoconsidering set variables or random variables. Generally, an outcome ismore favorable to a current player character (or player characters) whenthe player character has a better state. For example, a healthier playercharacter is less likely to die in a particular encounter relative to aweaker player character or non-player character.

A game event may be an outcome of an engagement, a provision of access,rights and/or benefits or the obtaining of some assets (e.g., health,money, strength, inventory, land, etc.). A game engine may determine theoutcome of a game event according to game rules (e.g., “a character withless than 5 health points will be prevented from initiating an attack”),based on a character's state and possibly also interactions of otherplayer characters and a random calculation. Moreover, an engagement mayinclude simple tasks (e.g., cross the river, shoot at an opponent),complex tasks (e.g., win a battle, unlock a puzzle, build a factory, roba liquor store), or other events.

In a game system according to aspects of the present disclosure, indetermining the outcome of a game event in a game being played by a user(or a group of more than one users), the game engine may take intoaccount the state of the player character (or group of PCs) that isplaying, but also the state of one or more PCs of offline/inactive userswho are connected to the current user (or PC, or group of PCs) throughthe game social graph but are not necessarily involved in the game atthe time.

For example, User A with six friends on User A's team (e.g., the friendsthat are listed as being in the user'smob/gang/set/army/business/crew/etc. depending on the nature of thegame) may be playing the virtual game and choose to confront User B whohas 20 friends on User B's team. In some embodiments, a user may onlyhave first-degree friends on the user's team. In other embodiments, auser may also have second-degree and higher degree friends on the user'steam. To resolve the game event, in some embodiments the game engine maytotal up the weapon strength of the seven members of User A's team andthe weapon strength of the 21 members of User B's team and decide anoutcome of the confrontation based on a random variable applied to aprobability distribution that favors the side with the greater total. Insome embodiments, all of this may be done without any other currentactive participants other than User A (e.g., User A's friends, User, B,and User B's friends could all be offline or inactive). In someembodiments, the friends in a user's team may see a change in theirstate as part of the outcome of the game event. In some embodiments, thestate (assets, condition, level) of friends beyond the first degree aretaken into account.

Example Game Networking Systems

A virtual game may be hosted by the game networking system 110, whichcan be accessed using any suitable connection with a suitable clientdevice 104. A user may have a game account on the game networking system110, wherein the game account may contain a variety of informationassociated with the user (e.g., the user's personal information,financial information, purchase history, player character state, gamestate, etc.). In some embodiments, a user may play multiple games on thegame networking system 110, which may maintain a single game account forthe user with respect to the multiple games, or multiple individual gameaccounts for each game with respect to the user. In some embodiments,the game networking system 110 may assign a unique identifier to a user102 of a virtual game hosted on the game networking system 110. The gamenetworking system 110 may determine that the user 102 is accessing thevirtual game by reading the user's cookies, which may be appended toHTTP requests transmitted by the client device 104, and/or by the user102 logging onto the virtual game.

In some embodiments, the user 102 accesses a virtual game and controlthe game's progress via the client device 104 (e.g., by inputtingcommands to the game at the client device 104). The client device 104can display the game interface, receive inputs from the user 102,transmit user inputs or other events to the game engine, and receiveinstructions from the game engine. The game engine can be executed onany suitable system (such as, for example, the client device 104, thesocial networking system 108, or the game networking system 110). Forexample, the client device 104 may download client components of avirtual game, which are executed locally, while a remote game server,such as the game networking system 110, provides backend support for theclient components and may be responsible for maintaining applicationdata of the game, processing the inputs from the user 102, updatingand/or synchronizing the game state based on the game logic and eachinput from the user 102, and transmitting instructions to the clientdevice 104. As another example, when the user 102 provides an input tothe game through the client device 104 (such as, for example, by typingon the keyboard or clicking the mouse of the client device 104), theclient components of the game may transmit the user's input to the gamenetworking system 110.

In some embodiments, the user 102 accesses particular game instances ofa virtual game. A game instance is a copy of a specific game play areathat is created during runtime. In some embodiments, a game instance isa discrete game play area where one or more users 102 can interact insynchronous or asynchronous play. A game instance may be, for example, alevel, zone, area, region, location, virtual space, or other suitableplay area. A game instance may be populated by one or more in-gameobjects. Each object may be defined within the game instance by one ormore variables, such as, for example, position, height, width, depth,direction, time, duration, speed, color, and other suitable variables.

In some embodiments, a specific game instance may be associated with oneor more specific users. A game instance is associated with a specificuser when one or more game parameters of the game instance areassociated with the specific user. For example, a game instanceassociated with a first user may be named “First User's Play Area.” Thisgame instance may be populated with the first user's PC and one or morein-game objects associated with the first user.

In some embodiments, a game instance associated with a specific user isonly accessible by that specific user. For example, a first user mayaccess a first game instance when playing a virtual game, and this firstgame instance may be inaccessible to all other users. In otherembodiments, a game instance associated with a specific user isaccessible by one or more other users, either synchronously orasynchronously with the specific user's game play. For example, a firstuser may be associated with a first game instance, but the first gameinstance may be accessed by all first-degree friends in the first user'ssocial network.

In some embodiments, the set of in-game actions available to a specificuser is different in a game instance that is associated with this usercompared to a game instance that is not associated with this user. Theset of in-game actions available to a specific user in a game instanceassociated with this user may be a subset, superset, or independent ofthe set of in-game actions available to this user in a game instancethat is not associated with him. For example, a first user may beassociated with Blackacre Farm in an online farming game, and may beable to plant crops on Blackacre Farm. If the first user accesses a gameinstance associated with another user, such as Whiteacre Farm, the gameengine may not allow the first user to plant crops in that gameinstance. However, other in-game actions may be available to the firstuser, such as watering or fertilizing crops on Whiteacre Farm.

In some embodiments, a game engine interfaces with a social graph.Social graphs are models of connections between entities (e.g.,individuals, users, contacts, friends, users, player characters,non-player characters, businesses, groups, associations, concepts,etc.). These entities are considered “users” of the social graph; assuch, the terms “entity” and “user” may be used interchangeably whenreferring to social graphs herein. A social graph can have a node foreach entity and edges to represent relationships between entities. Anode in a social graph can represent any entity. In some embodiments, aunique client identifier may be assigned to individual users in thesocial graph. This disclosure assumes that at least one entity of asocial graph is a user or player character in an online multiuser game.

In some embodiments, the social graph is managed by the game networkingsystem 110, which is managed by the game operator. In other embodiments,the social graph is part of a social networking system 108 managed by athird party (e.g., Facebook, Friendster, Myspace). In yet otherembodiments, the user 102 has a social network on both the gamenetworking system 110 and the social networking system 108, wherein theuser 102 can have a social network on the game networking system 110that is a subset, superset, or independent of the user's social networkon the social networking system 108. In such combined systems, gamenetwork system 110 can maintain social graph information with edge-typeattributes that indicate whether a given friend is an “in-game friend,”an “out-of-game friend,” or both. The various embodiments disclosedherein are operable when the social graph is managed by the socialnetworking system 108, the game networking system 110, or both.

Example Systems and Methods

Returning to FIG. 2, the User 201 may be associated, connected or linkedto various other users, or “friends,” within the out-of-game socialnetwork 250. These associations, connections or links can trackrelationships between users within the out-of-game social network 250and are commonly referred to as online “friends” or “friendships”between users. Each friend or friendship in a particular user's socialnetwork within a social graph is commonly referred to as a “node.” Forpurposes of illustration, the details of out-of-game social network 250are described in relation to User 201. As used herein, the terms “user”and “player” can be used interchangeably and can refer to any user in anonline multiuser game system or social networking system. As usedherein, the term “friend” can mean any node within a user's socialnetwork.

As shown in FIG. 2, User 201 has direct connections with severalfriends. When User 201 has a direct connection with another individual,that connection is referred to as a first-degree friend. In out-of-gamesocial network 250, User 201 has two first-degree friends. That is, User201 is directly connected to Friend 1 ₁ 211 and Friend 2 ₁ 221. Insocial graph 200, it is possible for individuals to be connected toother individuals through their first-degree friends (e.g., friends offriends). As described above, the number of edges in a minimum path thatconnects a user to another user is considered the degree of separation.For example, FIG. 2 shows that User 201 has three second-degree friendsto which User 201 is connected via User 201's connection to User 201'sfirst-degree friends. Second-degree Friend 1 ₂ 212 and Friend 2 ₂ 222are connected to User 201 via User 201's first-degree Friend 1 ₁ 211.The limit on the depth of friend connections, or the number of degreesof separation for associations, that User 201 is allowed is typicallydictated by the restrictions and policies implemented by the socialnetworking system 108.

In various embodiments, User 201 can have Nth-degree friends connectedto him through a chain of intermediary degree friends as indicated inFIG. 2. For example, Nth-degree Friend 1 _(N) 219 is connected to User201 within in-game social network 260 via second-degree Friend 3 ₂ 232and one or more other higher-degree friends.

In some embodiments, a user (or player character) has a social graphwithin an online multiuser game that is maintained by the game engineand another social graph maintained by a separate social networkingsystem. FIG. 2 depicts an example of in-game social network 260 andout-of-game social network 250. In this example, User 201 hasout-of-game connections 255 to a plurality of friends, formingout-of-game social network 250. Here, Friend 1 ₁ 211 and Friend 2 ₁ 221are first-degree friends with User 201 in User 201's out-of-game socialnetwork 250. User 201 also has in-game connections 265 to a plurality ofusers, forming in-game social network 260. Here, Friend 2 ₁ 221, Friend3 ₁ 231, and Friend 4 ₁ 241 are first-degree friends with User 201 inUser 201's in-game social network 260. In some embodiments, a gameengine can access in-game social network 260, out-of-game social network250, or both.

In some embodiments, the connections in a user's in-game social networkis formed both explicitly (e.g., when users “friend” each other) andimplicitly (e.g., when the system observes user behaviors and “friends”users to each other). Unless otherwise indicated, reference to a friendconnection between two or more users can be interpreted to cover bothexplicit and implicit connections, using one or more social graphs andother factors to infer friend connections. The friend connections can beunidirectional or bidirectional. It is also not a limitation of thisdescription that two users who are deemed “friends” for the purposes ofthis disclosure are not friends in real life (e.g., in disintermediatedinteractions or the like), but that could be the case.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example data flow between example components of anexample system 900. One or more of the components of the example system900 may correspond to one or more of the components of the example gamesystem 100. In some embodiments, system 900 includes a client system930, a social networking system 920 a, and a game networking system 920b. The components of system 900 can be connected to each other in anysuitable configuration, using any suitable type of connection. Thecomponents may be connected directly or over any suitable network. Theclient system 930, the social networking system 920 a, and the gamenetworking system 920 b may have one or more corresponding data storessuch as the local data store 925, the social data store 945, and thegame data store 965, respectively.

The client system 930 may receive and transmit data 923 to and from thegame networking system 920 b. This data can include, for example, a webpage, a message, a game input, a game display, a HTTP packet, a datarequest, transaction information, and other suitable data. At some othertime, or at the same time, the game networking system 920 b maycommunicate data 943, 947 (e.g., game state information, game systemaccount information, page info, messages, data requests, updates, etc.)with other networking systems, such as the social networking system 920a (e.g., Facebook, Myspace, etc.). The client system 930 can alsoreceive and transmit data 927 to and from the social networking system920 a. This data can include, for example, web pages, messages, socialgraph information, social network displays, HTTP packets, data requests,transaction information, updates, and other suitable data.

Communication between the client system 930, the social networkingsystem 920 a, and the game networking system 920 b can occur over anyappropriate electronic communication medium or network using anysuitable communications protocols. For example, the client system 930,as well as various servers of the systems described herein, may includeTransport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networking stacksto provide for datagram and transport functions. Of course, any othersuitable network and transport layer protocols can be utilized.

In some embodiments, an instance of a virtual game is stored as a set ofgame state parameters that characterize the state of various in-gameobjects, such as, for example, player character state parameters,non-player character parameters, and virtual item parameters. In someembodiments, game state is maintained in a database as a serialized,unstructured string of text data as a so-called Binary Large Object(BLOB). When a user accesses a virtual game on the game networkingsystem 920 b, the BLOB containing the game state for the instancecorresponding to the user may be transmitted to the client system 930for use by a client-side executed object to process. In someembodiments, the client-side executable is a FLASH-based game, which cande-serialize the game state data in the BLOB. As a user plays the game,the game logic implemented at the client system 930 maintains andmodifies the various game state parameters locally. The client-side gamelogic may also batch game events, such as mouse clicks, and transmitthese events to the game networking system 920 b. Game networking system920 b may itself operate by retrieving a copy of the BLOB from adatabase or an intermediate memory cache (memcache) layer. The gamenetworking system 920 b can also de-serialize the BLOB to resolve thegame state parameters and execute its own game logic based on the eventsin the batch file of events transmitted by the client to synchronize thegame state on the server side. The game networking system 920 b may thenre-serialize the game state, now modified into a BLOB, and pass this toa memory cache layer for lazy updates to a persistent database.

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented game is a text-based orturn-based game implemented as a series of web pages that are generatedafter a user selects one or more actions to perform. The web pages maybe displayed in a browser client executed on the client system 930. Forexample, a client application downloaded to the client system 930 mayoperate to serve a set of web pages to a user. As another example, avirtual game may be an animated or rendered game executable as astand-alone application or within the context of a webpage or otherstructured document. In some embodiments, the virtual game isimplemented using Adobe Flash-based technologies. As an example, a gamemay be fully or partially implemented as a SWF object that is embeddedin a web page and executable by a Flash media user plug-in. In someembodiments, one or more described web pages is associated with oraccessed by the social networking system 920 a. This disclosurecontemplates using any suitable application for the retrieval andrendering of structured documents hosted by any suitablenetwork-addressable resource or website.

Application event data of a game is any data relevant to the game (e.g.,user inputs). In some embodiments, each application datum may have aname and a value, and the value of the application datum may change(e.g., be updated) at any time. When an update to an application datumoccurs at the client system 930, either caused by an action of a gameuser or by the game logic itself, the client system 930 may need toinform the game networking system 920 b of the update. For example, ifthe game is a farming game with a harvest mechanic (such as ZyngaFarmVille), an event can correspond to a user clicking on a parcel ofland to harvest a crop. In such an instance, the application event datamay identify an event or action (e.g., harvest) and an object in thegame to which the event or action applies.

In some embodiments, one or more objects of a game is represented as anAdobe Flash object. Flash may manipulate vector and raster graphics, andsupports bidirectional streaming of audio and video. “Flash” may meanthe authoring environment, the user, or the application files. In someembodiments, the client system 930 may include a Flash client. The Flashclient may be configured to receive and run Flash application or gameobject code from any suitable networking system (such as, for example,the social networking system 920 a or the game networking system 920 b).In some embodiments, the Flash client is run in a browser clientexecuted on the client system 930. A user can interact with Flashobjects using the client system 930 and the Flash client. The Flashobjects can represent a variety of in-game objects. Thus, the user mayperform various in-game actions on various in-game objects by makingvarious changes and updates to the associated Flash objects.

In some embodiments, in-game actions are initiated by clicking orsimilarly interacting with a Flash object that represents a particularin-game object. For example, a user can interact with a Flash object touse, move, rotate, delete, attack, shoot, or harvest an in-game object.This disclosure contemplates performing any suitable in-game action byinteracting with any suitable Flash object. In some embodiments, whenthe user makes a change to a Flash object representing an in-gameobject, the client-executed game logic may update one or more game stateparameters associated with the in-game object. To ensure synchronizationbetween the Flash object shown to the user at the client system 930, theFlash client may send the events that caused the game state changes tothe in-game object to the game networking system 920 b. However, toexpedite the processing and hence the speed of the overall gamingexperience, the Flash client may collect a batch of some number ofevents or updates into a batch file. The number of events or updates maybe determined by the Flash client dynamically or determined by the gamenetworking system 920 b based on server loads or other factors. Forexample, client system 930 may send a batch file to the game networkingsystem 920 b whenever 50 updates have been collected or after athreshold period of time, such as every minute.

As used herein, the term “application event data” may refer to any datarelevant to a computer-implemented virtual game application that mayaffect one or more game state parameters, including, for example andwithout limitation, changes to user data or metadata, changes to usersocial connections or contacts, user inputs to the game, and eventsgenerated by the game logic. In some embodiments, each application datumhas a name and a value. The value of an application datum may change atany time in response to the game play of a user or in response to thegame engine (e.g., based on the game logic). In some embodiments, anapplication data update occurs when the value of a specific applicationdatum is changed.

In some embodiments, when a user plays a virtual game on the clientsystem 930, the game networking system 920 b serializes all thegame-related data, including, for example and without limitation, gamestates, game events, user inputs, for this particular user and thisparticular game into a BLOB and may store the BLOB in a database. TheBLOB may be associated with an identifier that indicates that the BLOBcontains the serialized game-related data for a particular user and aparticular virtual game. In some embodiments, while a user is notplaying the virtual game, the corresponding BLOB may be stored in thedatabase. This enables a user to stop playing the game at any timewithout losing the current state of the game the user is in. When a userresumes playing the game next time, game networking system 920 b mayretrieve the corresponding BLOB from the database to determine themost-recent values of the game-related data. In some embodiments, whilea user is playing the virtual game, the game networking system 920 balso loads the corresponding BLOB into a memory cache so that the gamesystem may have faster access to the BLOB and the game-related datacontained therein.

Various embodiments may operate in a wide area network environment, suchas the Internet, including multiple network addressable systems. FIG. 10illustrates an example network environment 1000, in which variousexample embodiments may operate. Network cloud 1060 generally representsone or more interconnected networks, over which the systems and hostsdescribed herein can communicate. Network cloud 1060 may includepacket-based wide area networks (such as the Internet), privatenetworks, wireless networks, satellite networks, cellular networks,paging networks, and the like. As FIG. 9 illustrates, variousembodiments may operate in a network environment 1000 comprising one ormore networking systems, such as a social networking system 1020 a, agame networking system 1020 b, and one or more client systems 1030. Thecomponents of the social networking system 1020 a and the gamenetworking system 1020 b operate analogously; as such, hereinafter theymay be referred to simply as the networking system 1020. The clientsystems 1030 are operably connected to the network environment 1000 viaa network service provider, a wireless carrier, or any other suitablemeans.

The networking system 1020 is a network addressable system that, invarious example embodiments, comprises one or more physical servers 1022and data stores 1024. The one or more physical servers 1022 are operablyconnected to computer network cloud 1060 via, by way of example, a setof routers and/or networking switches 1026. In an example embodiment,the functionality hosted by the one or more physical servers 1022 mayinclude web or HTTP servers, FTP servers, as well as, withoutlimitation, webpages and applications implemented using Common GatewayInterface (CGI) script, PHP Hyper-text Preprocessor (PHP), Active ServerPages (ASP), Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML), Extensible MarkupLanguage (XML), Java, JavaScript, Asynchronous JavaScript and XML(AJAX), Flash, ActionScript, and the like.

The physical servers 1022 may host functionality directed to theoperations of the networking system 1020. Hereinafter servers 1022 maybe referred to as server 1022, although the server 1022 may includenumerous servers hosting, for example, the networking system 1020, aswell as other content distribution servers, data stores, and databases.Data store 1024 may store content and data relating to, and enabling,operation of, the networking system 1020 as digital data objects. A dataobject, in some embodiments, is an item of digital information typicallystored or embodied in a data file, database, or record. Content objectsmay take many forms, including: text (e.g., ASCII, SGML, HTML), images(e.g., jpeg, tif and gif), graphics (vector-based or bitmap), audio,video (e.g., mpeg), or other multimedia, and combinations thereof.Content object data may also include executable code objects (e.g.,games executable within a browser window or frame), podcasts, etc.

Logically, data store 1024 corresponds to one or more of a variety ofseparate and integrated databases, such as relational databases andobject-oriented databases, that maintain information as an integratedcollection of logically related records or files stored on one or morephysical systems. Structurally, data store 1024 may generally includeone or more of a large class of data storage and management systems. Insome embodiments, data store 1024 may be implemented by any suitablephysical system(s) including components, such as one or more databaseservers, mass storage media, media library systems, storage areanetworks, data storage clouds, and the like. In one example embodiment,data store 1024 includes one or more servers, databases (e.g., MySQL),and/or data warehouses. Data store 1024 may include data associated withdifferent networking system 1020 users and/or client systems 1030.

The client system 1030 is generally a computer or computing deviceincluding functionality for communicating (e.g., remotely) over acomputer network. The client system 1030 may be a desktop computer,laptop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), in- or out-of-carnavigation system, smart phone or other cellular or mobile phone, ormobile gaming device, among other suitable computing devices. Clientsystem 1030 may execute one or more client applications, such as a Webbrowser.

When a user at a client system 1030 desires to view a particular webpage(hereinafter also referred to as target structured document) hosted bythe networking system 1020, the user's web browser, or other documentrendering engine or suitable client application, formulates andtransmits a request to the networking system 1020. The request generallyincludes a URL or other document identifier as well as metadata or otherinformation. By way of example, the request may include informationidentifying the user, a timestamp identifying when the request wastransmitted, and/or location information identifying a geographiclocation of the user's client system 1030 or a logical network locationof the user's client system 1030.

Although the example network environment 1000 described above andillustrated in FIG. 9 is described with respect to the social networkingsystem 1020 a and the game networking system 1020 b, this disclosureencompasses any suitable network environment using any suitable systems.For example, a network environment may include online media systems,online reviewing systems, online search engines, online advertisingsystems, or any combination of two or more such systems.

FIG. 11 is illustrates an example computing system architecture, whichmay be used to implement a server 1022 or a client system 1030. In oneembodiment, the hardware system 1100 comprises a processor 1102, a cachememory 1104, and one or more executable modules and drivers, stored on atangible computer-readable storage medium, directed to the functionsdescribed herein. Additionally, the hardware system 1100 may include ahigh performance input/output (I/O) bus 1106 and a standard I/O bus1108. A host bridge 1110 may couple the processor 1102 to the highperformance I/O bus 1106, whereas the I/O bus bridge 1112 couples thetwo buses 1106 and 1108 to each other. A system memory 1114 and one ormore network/communication interfaces 1116 may couple to the bus 1106.The hardware system 1100 may further include video memory (not shown)and a display device coupled to the video memory. Mass storage 1118 andI/O ports 1120 may couple to the bus 1108. The hardware system 1100 mayoptionally include a keyboard, a pointing device, and a display device(not shown) coupled to the bus 1108. Collectively, these elements areintended to represent a broad category of computer hardware systems.

The elements of the hardware system 1100 are described in greater detailbelow. In particular, the network interface 1116 provides communicationbetween the hardware system 1100 and any of a wide range of networks,such as an Ethernet (e.g., IEEE 802.3) network, a backplane, etc. Themass storage 1118 provides permanent storage for the data andprogramming instructions to perform the above-described functionsimplemented in servers 1122 of FIG. 9, whereas system memory 1114 (e.g.,DRAM) provides temporary storage for the data and programminginstructions when executed by the processor 1102. I/O ports 1120 are oneor more serial and/or parallel communication ports that providecommunication between additional peripheral devices, which may becoupled to the hardware system 1100.

The hardware system 1100 may include a variety of system architecturesand various components of the hardware system 1100 may be rearranged.For example, cache memory 1104 may be on-chip with the processor 1102.Alternatively, the cache memory 1104 and the processor 1102 may bepacked together as a “processor module,” with processor 1102 beingreferred to as the “processor core.” Furthermore, certain embodiments ofthe present disclosure may neither require nor include all of the abovecomponents. For example, the peripheral devices shown coupled to thestandard I/O bus 1108 may couple to the high performance I/O bus 1106.In addition, in some embodiments, only a single bus may exist, with thecomponents of the hardware system 1100 being coupled to the single bus.Furthermore, the hardware system 1100 may include additional components,such as additional processors, storage devices, or memories.

An operating system manages and controls the operation of the hardwaresystem 1100, including the input and output of data to and from softwareapplications (not shown). The operating system provides an interfacebetween the software applications being executed on the system and thehardware components of the system. Any suitable operating system may beused.

Furthermore, the above-described elements and operations may compriseinstructions that are stored on non-transitory storage media. Theinstructions can be retrieved and executed by a processing system. Someexamples of instructions are software, program code, and firmware. Someexamples of non-transitory storage media are memory devices, tape,disks, integrated circuits, and servers. The instructions may beexecuted by the processing system to direct the processing system tooperate in accord with the disclosure. The term “processing system”refers to a single processing device or a group of inter-operationalprocessing devices. Some examples of processing devices are integratedcircuits and logic circuitry. Those skilled in the art are familiar withinstructions, computers, and storage media.

One or more features from any embodiment may be combined with one ormore features of any other embodiment without departing from the scopeof the disclosure.

A recitation of “a”, “an,” or “the” is intended to mean “one or more”unless specifically indicated to the contrary. In addition, it is to beunderstood that functional operations, such as “awarding”, “locating”,“permitting” and the like, are executed by game application logic thataccesses, and/or causes changes to, various data attribute valuesmaintained in a database or other memory.

The present disclosure encompasses all changes, substitutions,variations, alterations, and modifications to the example embodimentsherein that a person having ordinary skill in the art would comprehend.Similarly, where appropriate, the appended claims encompass all changes,substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications to the exampleembodiments herein that a person having ordinary skill in the art wouldcomprehend.

For example, the methods, game features and game mechanics describedherein may be implemented using hardware components, softwarecomponents, and/or any combination thereof. By way of example, whileembodiments of the present disclosure have been described as operatingin connection with a networking website, various embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be used in connection with any communicationsfacility that supports web applications. Furthermore, in someembodiments the term “web service” and “website” may be usedinterchangeably and additionally may refer to a custom or generalizedAPI on a device, such as a mobile device (e.g., cellular phone, smartphone, personal GPS, personal digital assistance, personal gamingdevice, etc.), that makes API calls directly to a server. Still further,while the embodiments described above operate with business-relatedvirtual objects (such as stores and restaurants), the embodiments can beapplied to any in-game asset around which a harvest mechanic isimplemented, such as a virtual stove, a plot of land, and the like. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made thereuntowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the disclosure asset forth in the claims and that the disclosure is intended to cover allmodifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: storing a set of gameconfigurations comprising a plurality of game configurations of a wordforming game, each game configuration comprising a gameboard thatcomprises a set tiles from which a respective set of words areselectable during gameplay; accessing historical performance dataindicating historical performance in the word forming game by multipleplayers; in an automated operation performed using one or more computerprocessors configured therefor, calculating for each game configurationin the set of game configurations a respective quality score using agame configuration heuristic in combination with the historicalperformance data, the game configuration heuristic for each gameconfiguration being based at least in part on respective historicalselection values for words formable from the corresponding gameboard;based at least in part on the respective quality scores, selecting oneof the set of game configurations for presentation to a player; andcausing presentation of the selected game configuration in a game userinterface on a client device associated with the player.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the historical selection values are word counts forrespective words, each word count representing the number of times thecorresponding word was selected in games represented in the historicalperformance data.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the historicalselection values are formation ratios for respective words, eachformation ratio indicating, in past games represented in the historicalperformance data, a ratio of the number of times that the correspondingword was available for formation and was then formed.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the game configuration heuristic is based at least inpart on the number of possible words formable in the corresponding gameconfiguration.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating of thequality scores is based at least in part on a bonus feature incombination with the respective set of words formable in thecorresponding game configuration.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thebonus feature comprises a predefined themed keyword dictionary,calculating the quality score for a particular game configurationcomprising increasing the quality score responsive to the correspondingset of words including a word included in the themed keyword dictionary.7. The method of claim 5, wherein the bonus feature comprises one ormore scoring multipliers associated with respective tiles of aparticular game configuration, the calculating of the quality scorecomprising applying the respective scoring multiplier to a word formableusing the corresponding tile.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the prior operations of: generating multiple gameconfigurations in an automated random generation procedure; andincluding the multiple randomly generated game configurations in the setof game configurations for consideration in automated selection based onthe respective quality scores.
 9. A system comprising: one or morecomputer processors; and a memory storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more computer processors, configure the system toperform operations comprising: storing a set of game configurationscomprising a plurality of game configurations of a word forming game,each game configuration comprising a gameboard that comprises a settiles from which a respective set of words are selectable duringgameplay; accessing historical performance data indicating historicalperformance in the word forming game by multiple players; calculatingfor each game configuration in the set of game configurations arespective quality score using a game configuration heuristic incombination with the historical performance data, the game configurationheuristic for each game configuration being based at least in part onrespective historical selection values for words formable from thecorresponding gameboard; based at least in part on the respectivequality scores, selecting one of the set of game configurations forpresentation to a player; and causing presentation of the selected gameconfiguration in a game user interface on a client device associatedwith the player.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the historicalselection values are word counts for respective words, each word countrepresenting the number of times the corresponding word was selected ingames represented in the historical performance data.
 11. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the historical selection values are formation ratiosfor respective words, each formation ratio indicating, in past gamesrepresented in the historical performance data, a ratio of the number oftimes that the corresponding word was available for formation and wasthen formed.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the game configurationheuristic is based at least in part on the number of possible wordsformable in the corresponding game configuration.
 13. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the instructions configure the one or more computerprocessors to calculate the quality scores based at least in part on abonus feature in combination with the respective set of words formablein the corresponding game configuration.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein the bonus feature comprises a predefined themed keyworddictionary, calculating the quality score for a particular gameconfiguration comprising increasing the quality score responsive to thecorresponding set of words including a word included in the themedkeyword dictionary.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the bonusfeature comprises one or more scoring multipliers associated withrespective tiles of a particular game configuration, the calculating ofthe quality score comprising apply the respective scoring multiplier toa word formable using the corresponding tile.
 16. The system of claim 9,wherein the instructions further configure the one or more computerprocessors to perform the prior operations of: generating multiple gameconfigurations in an automated random generation procedure; andincluding the multiple randomly generated game configurations in the setof game configurations for consideration in automated selection based onthe respective quality scores.
 17. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium, the computer-readable storage medium includinginstructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer toperform operations comprising: storing a set of game configurationscomprising a plurality of game configurations of a word forming game,each game configuration comprising a gameboard that comprises a settiles from which a respective set of words are selectable duringgameplay; accessing historical performance data indicating historicalperformance in the word forming game by multiple players; in anautomated operation, calculating for each game configuration in the setof game configurations a respective quality score using a gameconfiguration heuristic in combination with the historical performancedata, the game configuration heuristic for each game configuration beingbased at least in part on respective historical selection values forwords formable from the corresponding gameboard; based at least in parton the respective quality scores, selecting one of the set of gameconfigurations for presentation to a player; and causing presentation ofthe selected game configuration in a game user interface on a clientdevice associated with the player.
 18. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 17, wherein the historical selection values are wordcounts for respective words, each word count representing the number oftimes the corresponding word was selected in games represented in thehistorical performance data.
 19. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 17, wherein the historical selection values are formation ratiosfor respective words, each formation ratio indicating, in past gamesrepresented in the historical performance data, a ratio of the number oftimes that the corresponding word was available for formation and wasthen formed.
 20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17,wherein the game configuration heuristic is based at least in part onthe number of possible words formable in the corresponding gameconfiguration.